Designs Revealed for 2016 America the Beautiful Quarters Program

The U.S. Mint has revealed the five reverse designs that will appear as part of the American the Beautiful Quarters Program in 2016. The quarters commemorate the designation of U.S. sites as National Parks, Monuments, or protected areas in the order they were formally recognized. As in the past, each coin will be given its own release date and will feature John Flanagan’s George Washington portrait as an obverse image.

The American the Beautiful Quarters Program was launched in 2010, and the final coin in the series is scheduled for release in 2021. For more information, visit the U.S. Mint’s page for the ATB Quarters Program.

We are approaching a sad anniversary and the Wall Street Journal has published an opinion piece about it today written by Seth Lipsky. Follow this Google search link and click on the top search result which points to the WSJ.

OT, what if the new mystery Coin and Currency set has a RP Sac and a $2 bill. They would tie in nicely, seeing how Jefferson send Lewis and Clark on their expedition where they met Sacajawea. Too much of a stretch? I think that would be pretty cool!

@Cagcrisp- from previous thread, yes I have been watching the sails……lol. About time if you asked me to lighten up…..the math versus graded doesn’t work any more. Intentionally vague here. I have decided against grading….I had two strong candidates, but like I said, the math doesn’t work unless I get lucky.

Too bad Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia don’t have anything beautiful to contribute to an America the Beautiful series of coins.
The Cumberland Gap locale MUST have offered an opportunity for a more scenic view than the one chosen. I guess it was more important to be able to include a weapon in the scene.

rsf said:
“Too bad Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia don’t have anything beautiful to contribute to an America the Beautiful series of coins.
The Cumberland Gap locale MUST have offered an opportunity for a more scenic view than the one chosen. I guess it was more important to be able to include a weapon in the scene.”

Yeah, the North Dakota coin seems to depict Teddy with his left hand resting on his pistol’s grip

Well, I have to admit that I find a LOT to like with these new 2016 ATB design selections. The Shawee rock formations have a haunting surreal look. A great depiction of a Kentucky settler looking west. Uncluttered 3/4 view of John Brown’s Fort. TR – gorgeous balanced serpentine composition of river meeting horse’s neck with EXCELLENT portrayal of Teddie. Fort Moultrie, dramatic composition of the soldier pose leading your eye to the action in the background. I’m up for one each in OGP in 2016.

rsf,
The more majestic National Parks that were chose to be part of the ATB quarters series have already been done by the Mint. The remaining coins, for the most part, will be of less widely known National Parks Sites, many of which do not necessarily lend themselves to impressive renderings on coins.
Did you happen to notice that on 3 of the 5 2016 ATB designs, the scenes are dominated by a person? Other than Roosevelt, the focus should have been on the N.P. Sites, not an anonymous person.

IMO the only good design is Teddy Roosevelt. The Cumberland Gap and Fort Moultrie designs are especially poor. I’m sure John brown’s Fort didn’t look anything like this antiseptic redition for Harper’s Ferry. The rock on the Shawnee coin looks like an angry Snoopy.

Gary – I think you are the only one who likes all five 2016 quarters. Like Hawkster said, where is the fort in the Fort Moultrie coin? And the Cumberland Gap “rendition” has to be the poorest example of an ATB coin since Perry’s Victory. Cumberland Gap should have been more like the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah coins – it is very close to both of them, and is part of the southern Appalachians.

@Ikaika- Thank you for alerting folks here on MNB about the availability of the Blue Ridge coin. There are many here that collect the 69Dmpl versions of the coin and I am sure they are glad to know that they are starting to appear. I have collected many of the PCGS graded bullion pucks whenever I can get a good price on one. I appreciate that you took the initiative to inform us here.

Even though the pop numbers aren’t out yet, a look at the top 20 prez sets on the NGC site show only 3 reverse proof coins have been registered yet, and all were 69s. The other 17 did not have a coin registered.

The 69 Truman was alone in each set, no other coins listed were 70s. Not sure what to read into this yet.

The Mint might be calling it quits on the Truman and Eisenhower coin & medal sets, but decided to go to the well one more time with the Kennedy sets. The first batch was 10,000, the second was 5,000 and the third might be 5,000 also. That will make the Kennedy the most highly produced coin & medal set to date, as none have had more than 16,XXX made. If I recall correctly, that was the sales number reported for the Jefferson set. It seems like one of the 2007’s passed 16,000, but I can’t swear to it.

I would imagine that the Ronald and Nancy Reagan set next year will also have a large sales number. For now though, it appears that the Kennedy will have the high mintage crown.

@Ikaika-Folks were paying $180-$200 and above last fall for the Great Sand Dunes bullion 5 oz puck with the Mercanti label. I never could stomach the price and didn’t like the design so I still don’t have one. So, taking that in context the $189 price is reasonable. It still is a bit high for me, but I am patient when it comes to purchasing my 69dmpl’s. I just got my FS 69dmpl Grand Canyon early last year for under $300 to complete my 2010 set. The seller didn’t do a great job of listing the coin and I had very little competition in the auction. I am sometimes patient to a fault, sometimes impatient to a fault. 🙂

Jerry,
Unfortunately, Niagara Falls is actually a New York State Park, and thus was not eligible to be a candidate for the ATB (National Parks) series.
Of course the more spectacular Horseshoe Falls belongs to Canada, which I think it has been depicted on a Canadian coin.

Seems like the 2014 Kennedy Silver Set is on life support and nobody dares to pull the plug. I love the set and I have one but come on mint! Maybe a price decrease to revive and bring back more life to the set.
On a side note, why isn’t there a price grid for silver products yet?! I bet sales /sells (-: would reflect market changes.

@ Maddogday: Read my post 7 from the top – above.
Any thoughts on what will happen after the Kennedy Gold sell out?
I’m not sure, but you never know.
Is the upward RP Truman going to continue? Maybe a downward trend in PMs is good for the clads?

@Ikaika … I collect the ATB 5 oz. “P” series in OGP only because that is the finish I like & can only afford to do. The bullion versions in 69DMPL would make a great set and all very reasonable 6-12 months after initial release dates. As DR pointed out the “Mercanti” label or such adjectives as first strike, etc. will eventually not command any special premium.

Pop Quiz – What famous figure put an end to John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry? Don’t cheat, or at least pretend you didn’t cheat.

As for the coin itself, I would have preferred the view of the town in design WV-06, but this one might turn out nicely on the P-Puck. Thank goodness they didn’t select the deer design for Cumberland Gap.

Agree with the label thing. I do not care what kind they come with. However, as some of the great folks here discussed in the past, trying to buy the ungraded bullion to find a nice ms69DMPL or close could prove more costly than buying the graded one directly.

The bullion ATBs I collect are in 69DMPL with FS labels, others with Mercanti labels, others with regular blue labels. My P’s are all in OGP. So far the mint has been sending nice examples. Just had to exchange once. Cheers!

I am disappointed with three of the five 2016 designs featuring people. The early success of this series was based on showing the parks and animals, birds or vegetation. The Mint has really strayed from that.

My intent wasn’t provoke any unnecessary comments, apologies to everyone if that is the end result. These Civil War era themed coins are some of my favorites of the series and I love all the history behind them.

As to the ATB series, each Federal national park was conceived and created with different criteria. Some for their obvious and not-so-obvious natural beauty of flora, fauna and geology while others have their existence as an important milestone in U.S. history. History in and of itself is a singularly human invention so it very natural that people are portrayed to lend relevance to the individual location.
Even so, I agree with many here that the federal parks selected from some individual states should have been more judiciously selected. To that I would add that the obverse could and should have been that of Theodore Roosevelt with a different portrait of him for each year’s issue AND the nominal value on the piece should have been $5.

I buy the collector version 5 oz ATB pucks directly from the mint and will continue to do so next year. I also like to acquire raw bullion 5 oz ATB pucks for close to spot. These all have pretty low mintages, and I do not care if a label says DPL or DMPL. Mine look just as nice and for $50 (NGC) to $100 (PCGS) less each.

Wow, yes that KY-05 would have been spectacular. Maybe they were concerned with how the scenery in the distance would look on a coin. The 2011 Glacier design is a good example – the details in the background just looks like a jumbled mess and everything kind of runs together.

The design of Moultrie is a mess, IMO … I thought this was showing a dancer dancing with a flag on the stage … I mean at least show him with a sword in one hand and the flag held high in the other signaling victory while facing the British ship which is in the design all JMO …

And I too would have liked to have seen the actual fort or part of it incorporated into the design, all IMO … at least the TR is nice! and I might get not just the bullion but the P as well.

Cumberland Gap and Ft. Moultrie don’t do it for me either, and Harper’s Ferry is pretty bland. The Shawnee is nice, and of course TR will probably be the most popular of the series. When you look at the details or lack thereof on the HF coin and compare it to something like the Tiffany coins, it is pretty embarrassing really. We can do a lot better.

So that means there is 0.004% of the total mintage of the Kennedy Gold halves still available from the Mint. 99.996% have been sold. Should I buy one of these ???
Been on the fence since it was on sale. A fairly “real” coin and priced at an all-time low. Maybe next week lower?

Checked out some of the sales of the Jackie Kennedy 1/2 ounce. Some have sold recently in OGP and 69 slabs well under the original Mint sales price from barely one month ago! Does seem that collectors wanting 69 and 70 slabs can snap them up at auction very reasonably. Good opportunity for FS gold collectors.

@ips_stuff, Current Mint Sales (07/19) shows 214,642. The Mint max on the Gold was 75,000 and with this week Sales it would put mintage approximately 73,502. SO… The Mint Sold what the had minted. Max mintage for the Silver is 225,000. Current Mint Sales of 07/19 shows 214,642. Average Sales since ’14YE have been 766 with a continuing Decline. Avg Sales for the past 6 weeks have been 318…

I should say that there are no DIRECT links to the Kennedy gold. If you go to the Silver set or the clad set, it will show in the ‘You might also like’ section. Current status is ‘Currently Unavailable’ with the ‘REMIND ME’ button. I suppose there could be a cancelation or two. Maybe that lucky person who got the last one can get a ‘Last Kennedy Gold Sold’ label on they’re slab.

I thought the designs weren’t bad at all, but I’ve got to admit that I like 2014’s crop better. Re the comments, well, coin design haters gotta hate.

I read the WSJ piece, more hard money palpitations as far as I’m concerned. LBJ’s removal of silver was obviously a last step in the process, but we had changed the silver content of our coins several times in the 19th century (arrows at dates, anyone?).

So, bright guys, if you have a hard money coinage and the free market drives the value of its metallic content above its face value, people start to hoard it and to melt it. How do you respond to that and, to make it more interesting, how do you do so it in a global economy where everyone else is (successfully) using a fiat monetary system? C’mon, true believers, show me what you’ve got.

cagcrisp reported that there were 20 K15 Kennedy gold coins left as of Monday morning, July 20. The Mint’s sales report as of Sun July 19 shows that a total of 74,482 K15 Kennedy gold coins had been sold. So it appears that next week’s Mint sales report will show total sales of about 74,502. That’s substantially less than the 75,000 mintage limit.

@ MacHeathOhio – The problem is that you put some dollar value on precious metal coins. So it is like the government says “this coin is worth this much”. So someday if the metal in the coin is worth more than the amount written on the coin, it gets horded. The way it SHOULD be done, is to just list the gold or silver amount on the coin, no dollar amount. So, for example, a one OZ gold coin is worth whatever one OZ of gold will buy. That way the coin can’t ever be worth more than it says on it, because it only says what it really is, one OZ of gold.

Forget the nominal values on bullion coins – just use/trade/barter them based on the bullion content. The issue is acceptance. A few well-infomed businesses might be acccepting bullion already, but the average person does not. (And forget about Chinese forgeries – that is a different issue).

I would not be apprised if the gold Kennedy goes lower in the coming months because they could barely sell 75K All that wanted one got one no muss no fuss. These are currently on sale at eBay for less than the initial issue price. pipe dream if you think there going up. I will tell you what will go up the Kennedy spouse metal set, that’s a freebe. From me.

Recent sells on ebay upgraded w/OGP $995 graded PF70 $1275 your assumption there going higher maynbe in 50 years on the 100th anniversary , plus gold is going lower those that need to sell will sell for way less for the next best issue.

@MacHeathOhio I will quibble about your comment that the rest of the world is using the fiat money system successfully. Cyprus and Greece are 2 examples of where it isn’t working. Greece is not fixed, just as it wasn’t fixed last year and the year before. China is a black hole, the US and Japan both don’t even bother to put all their gov’t bonds on the market anymore.

The entire world is now devaluing their currencies simultaneously while commodity prices are crashing. Something isn’t working.

The bankers have an irrational fear of deflation so they will over react. Result will be disaster.

As someone mentioned Shawnee looks like an angry Snoopy, and I’ll add he’s staring at Woodstock (the other pile of rocks). Not terrible.

Cumberland would have been better if the male hadn’t dominated the image. It doesn’t seem like a coin about the park, but this un-named guy. Hard to get excited by a mountain pass. Maybe a campfire scene on the trail would have been better?

Harper’s Ferry – Well this year we got the Homestead outhouse, we can all look forward to the Harper’s Ferry roadside rest stop next year. The armory was important back in the day, but there should be no issues in showing how these places look today in modern times.

TR – This coin begs for the enhancement treatment. That river would look like a ribbon. One of the few coins I like with a person from an earlier period, and who better than TR himself.

Fort Moultrie – You may have heard of where is the beef? Well where is the fort. I fear many, seeing the crescent moon will think this is a Saracen (Muslim) attack of some sort. Just when we thought the tender touch of hands in this years Saratoga coin was the worse, the ante is raised by the folks that chose this design.

The ATB’s are IMO supposed to highlight the beauty and wonders of these places . If there is nothing there to show, maybe they should be skipped. Hopefully, future coins will stay on point.

Not knowing anything about Shawnee National Forest, the first of 2016’s ATB quarters, I checked it out on Yahoo. It is located in Southern Illinois and the images of it reveal some spectacular scenery, with several waterfalls and rock formations.
But, interestingly, the balanced rock formation depicted on the coin is more typical of those in the Western states. There is a place in Colorado Springs called Garden of the Gods, in which you drive through and view these curious, balanced rock formations. It’s a great place to visit. Recently, some idiot made news by deliberately knocking over one of the more well known balanced rocks. I think that the Park’s workers were able to put it back up and mortar it in place in an attempt to prevent this from happening again.

@nd jay…obviously you are being sarcastic….I recently saw one in ogp sell for $995 on ebay. There may be some new readers here that might take your comment seriously and then go overpay fir a coin. So please reframe from caliing “fire” in a theatre and causing panic
Thank you!

@KCSO, et. al: Good to know that the Privateer is done. Can’t wait for #2!

Re: 2016 ATB: I get it that the “park” parks are mostly done with many of the remaining designs to come depicting historical sites dealing with human activity. The ’16s are better than expected and will probably be more than halfway decent as pucks. The series hit a low with the outhouse coin this year. I am hoping that either of the Minnesota, Wisconsin or Muchigan designs features a moose in 2018.

thePhelps – the upcoming parks might be lesser known, but they can still produce some nice coins. The PR coin comes to mind. It focused on the flora and fauna. It mixed it up from the long scenic views nicely.

The only 2015 5 oz ATB that I have bought is the BR Parkway. I am not motivated to obtain any of the others. I know many of you have expressed your enthusiasm with the turkey puck. I like birds, including wild turkeys. But, to me, this turkey looks like a heavy bodied B-29 bomber taking off.
The other 2015 puck featuring birds is the Bombay Hook. I love blue herons and great white egrets. I see these impressive birds frequently where I live. But, in designing the Bombay Hook ATB, Mint designer Joel Itzkowitz essentially replicated the Everglades puck. Basically, all he did was replace the anhinga and roseate spoonbill with the heron and egret.
Enough said on the other two: Homestead and Saratoga. Negative comments abound .
Looking to 2016, the only one that I plan to purchase is Roosevelt. He is the only person that should dominate an ATB’s reverse. The anonymous men on the Fort Moultrie and Cumberland Gap ruin these coin’s designs.

@ Hawkster Garden of the Gods is a really cool place, it has some balanced type rocks but is best know the towering rock formations. (we visit it yearly while in Manitou Springs Co). The balanced rock damage you mentioned was in Utah neat the Arches. Many of the formations have been damaged or destroyed over the last century.

Hawkster – I have to say the BuRP grew on me. Perhaps since I’ve been on those roads a few times it made me a bit partial to the wonderful views that abound there.

I think they missed the boat by not putting a gator on the Everglades coin, but I still like the coin. They really can’t go wrong with birds as there are so many differently looking species, not that I want a bird on every coin, but if they get stuck. A mountain lion or cougar would have been nice, but we may have passed the parks that are part of their habitats.

Bob r,
Thanks for the correction. Yes, it was Arches where the balanced rock was toppled by the jerk. I have been to Arches and it is a spectacular place. Although it was several years ago, I do remember one section that had some amazingly balanced rocks. The hike up to Delicate Arch, which began at an old ranch site, was also a great experience.

@VA BOB- I can totally see Snoopy in the Shawnee design. 🙂 I compare it to looking at a big fluffy cloud…you can use your imagination and see many differing images. I think the design may look nice as a coin after the drawing has been engraved. I also agree that the Harper’s Ferry coin is the 2nd coming of Homestead. I may have a completely new bottom 5 ATB designs after next year. Ft Moultrie has to be in there. What a disaster! I was wondering…where have I seen that hat before, and then it dawned on me. 😉

john – just be careful, coins prior to the last 30 years rarely graded that high. Not to say that 68 is impossible, but proofs from that era were not kept in capsules and slabs came much later. 65 was considered a very high grade and one rarely saw anything above 67.

AMEN, Brothers!
If I were independently wealthy here’s what I’d like to do…………buy a bunch o these halfs, crack em out, submit em raw and see what they grade for Joe Average. Then go to 60 Minutes for an expose!

@Stuart: being from Mich, The copper coast along the upper peninsula is stunning. Look it up. A place called Sleeping Bear Dunes has 1000 ft cliffs of sand that you can run down to the jump in the 55 degree water in summer time. I just hope they dont use the macinac bridge. Mackinaw Island off the coast up there to this day will not allow motor cars. Horse and carriage only. The one time they allowed a car was for the movie Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve. Great movie..The Grand Hotel on the Island is every girls dream to get married at and is booked up for the next 100 years already!

I disagree with buying on a tv show ONLY becasue after watching them all for over a year on DVR, CV actually had a few sets of the 4 coin silver kennedys cheaper than ANYONE else but that was one time in that whole time and they were gone in a few minutes. So it is VERY rare to find a deal on TV coin shows.

Thanks for clarifying GF. And BTW:
Those 3 69s be mine..lol Had to try. They look like 70 to me but im not a big boy so grade at your own risk. I like them secured and slabbed and the price was right so no loss on that. Even upgraded to the scratch resist. Those clads turn horrible colors when exposed to the air and fast. Harry will be nice and shiny in all his RP glory now and a clear crisp frosted background wont turn dirty yellow but stay shiny golden…

FMTransmitter: I am from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Both my grandfathers were involved in copper mining in the UP & my father went to Michigan Tech for Mining Engineering. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is beautiful. I used to take the once a day ferry out to Stockton Island and camp in the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin. There are incredible sandstone caves in the National Lakeshore that could be depicted on that coin.
And of course I have had many canoe trips in Northern Minnesota and look forward to the Voyageurs National Park quarter. I would like to see a canoe and a moose on that 2018 quarter. My wife is a big fan of Block Island in Rhode Island. Still a lot to look forward to in the ATB series I believe.

With the Shanghai Stock Exchange still suppressed artificially by the Chinese government I’m expecting another weekend dumping of gold (to cover stock calls & losses) in the near future. The consequence of China taking another dump will drive gold further down (taking silver down some also).
IMHO it is not a favorable time to buy the 2015 HR or any U.S. Mint numismatic gold item at such high premiums over spot gold.

I like some of the 2016 ATB designs and may get a few if the mintages are low, but I agree that going forward from 2106 there are not many popular locations to keep me interested in this series anymore.

@gary – All true but from what read “a Reuters analysis of trade data from New York and Shanghai exchanges shows that it was New York which recorded far heavier volumes and a bigger downdraft on prices.” then add “the gold crash took place in the span of 30 seconds just before Chinese stocks opened.” If true it would not be the first time someone got their timing wrong. I remember the press saying it certain stocks moved based on some Fed announcement but the move came 1 minute before the Fed actually made the announcement .

@fmtransmitter–I didn’t realize you’re from Michigan. You are fortunate to have ties to the home of Spartan football, basketball, hockey, and the legends there. My 14 year old son dreams of someday playing for Coach Tom Izzo and wearing green and white. We’re here in the great southwest, but hope to visit in the coming years.

@Clark: “Green” is the color of nausea. East Lansing is a cesspool and Michigan State is a place to go to school if signing an “X” for you name and your diploma is basically worth almost as much as a scrap of toilet paper. Izzo’s program is past it’s prime and will soon be back on the bottom where it belongs. At least the illiterates “We ain’t come to play skool, classes are pointless” down in Columbus will have a better program that Sparty forever. Your son’s dreams would be a nightmare if they came true. He needs to think much bigger and better. Coach Harbaugh will the on top of the NCAA very soon at the best academic institution in the world!

@Clark: Well I lived with a Uof M quaterback who won the Rose Bowl for them and I am friends with and MUS qurterback who broke almost every record while there. I would suggest seeing who offers your son a full ride and then take a tour of each campus ALONE and check out the area AND do your research ONLINE about what the students say. One thing he will need, a new scarf because either or, the snot freezing off the end of your nose sux…

I am going to agree with DCDave about UofM not just because I spent most time there but I spent my youth at the Law School and had the biggest baddest hot dog cart ever to sell nice warm gourmet Kosher dogs to starving students between classes when it is -17 in Feb. The academic curriculum is superior at U of M and the Football Team is on it’s way back to glory…

FMTransmitter: I am from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Both my grandfathers were involved in copper mining in the UP & my father went to Michigan Tech for Mining Engineering. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is beautiful. I used to take the once a day ferry out to Stockton Island and camp in the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin. There are incredible sandstone caves in the National Lakeshore that could be depicted on that coin.
And of course I have had many canoe trips in Northern Minnesota and look forward to the Voyageurs National Park quarter. I would like to see a canoe and a moose on that 2018 quarter. My wife is a big fan of Block Island in Rhode Island. Still a lot to look forward to in the ATB series I believe.

DCDavis, Hawk, fm–Thanks for the tips and guttural yelps, but it would be akin to child abuse to allow my son to go anywhere near that school in ann arbor. He already knows that the yellow and blue replaced Northwestern as the Big Ten’s perennial doormat. Go green!

All this talk of great schools like U of M and somewhat great schools like MSU (I noticed there was no mention of the “I wish they were great schools like ND”), makes me wonder if a college state quarter program will be next on the Mint’s agenda. Just imagine the U of M “hash bash” (do they still do that?) or a MSU Vet student with his arm up to the elbow in a cow, on the back of a 5 oz. puck. The possibilities are endless.

Speaking of Ann Arbor and UM, I was in Ann Arbor on Tuesday. Looked on the net for good eating suggestions. I came up with crazy somebodys Blimpyburger.
The place was 99% selfhyped. Nothing but a greasy spoon , way overpriced.

There’s a place in Madison Heights , The Telway, that’s way better. I got to learn to not trust internet selfhyped reviews. Nothing but dissapointment everytime.

Well I have to say the real colleges are in the great state of Florida, He could do no wrong with Gators, Hurricane, or a Nole. That’s where the real men play SEC/ACC that’s if he makes the grade with these school . My guess is he better stay in the weak big 10. But if he wants to be part of a college championship it’s best bet FLA. Tell us how it works out a Spartan or a Wolverine not.

@Rudy–Given the great sums of money spent on collegiate gear, logos and memorabilia, your idea for a college state quarters program could generate lot of revenue, if Congress saw fit to authorize the program.

Regional parochial schools like Notre Dame, would not be eligible, but imagine the demand for coins minted with seals from truly great universities around the country.

DR,
Those well manicured, expansive lawns are nice to sit on when the professors move their classes outside in the springtime. They make for a conducive learning environment.
It’s better for the graffiti to be of a digital nature, rather than have those nice brick buildings defaced with actual graffiti.
Hey, we’re filling in dead time in a thread that’s a bit stretched. Sit back and enjoy.

I got my latest shipment from the mint today… packaged as usual per the new shipper. 2 full pillows siting on top of my coins which were again in the bottom of the box. I am still not sure I understand the shippers logic – are the packing materials intended to fill the box or protect the contents?

@thePhelps I received the same thing earlier this week. Coin boxes rattling on the bottom of an oversized box with RCM inspired air pillows on top. At least the RCM actually fills in all the open space.

Of these designs, I like Shawnee the best. Not only because to me it’s the most pleasing design of the 2016’s, but also because I’ve lived in Southern Illinois my entire life and have been familiar with Shawnee National Forest since I was a kid. I do wish the coin could show the entire name instead of just “Shawnee”, though.

thePhelps- you should feel ever so fortunate. I picked up a package this evening with 2 3″ medals and an AUDCS that were thrown into a shoe box size box with 2 pieces of paper.

It’s not the mint’s fault that Dumbpost lead to the box being smashed like an accordion, though proper package could have prevented damage to the AUDCS. This is the 3rd time in the last 5 orders that have incurred damage, the other two were P pucks and my Truman C&Cs.

@ Brad
All this talk above about MSU and others . I guess that’s great for big university’s, But I have to say SIUC “Salukis” is and was the best in my time (number 1 party school in Playboy) . That is the true Southern Illinois. Work hard Play hard !

Yelp .
Hawkster : you alumni ?
I was not in diapers yet . Love the history of those who blazed the trail.
A lot of great people wish I could of contributed. Maybe someday be known of my gifs to society.

Yeah, I attended SIU from August 1992 through May 1996. I went the first two years to Rend Lake College then transferred in. In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago, while in others it seems like it was only yesterday.

I did Kaskaskia College for two then transferred in.
When I am almost 30 years out from high school . (life time) Never expected to live 30 years old . (alone 30 from high school)
“Everyday is a good day some days are better than others”

Hawkster, DR is just upset because he’s a big fan of, and possibly still invested in PFSweb. I think we all know who they are, they’re the big screw-ups who are causing so many of the hassles we are having to deal with when ordering from the US Mint. The first time I had ever noticed the guy on this thread was when he was expounding the virtues of his latest big win. With all honesty, PSFweb, was a blunder by the Mint, who they are now stuck with until their contract runs out.

I’m another one who collects the MS69 DMPL 5oz pucks, so I very much appreciate the heads-up on the Blue Ridge availability on MCM. I ordered mine and at that point, there were only 7 left. I’ve only seen 2 Kisatchie MS69 DMPL coins on the bay, and both of those were well over $700. One of the listings says that there are only 44 MS69 DMPL signed by Mercanti. Can others verify that? I’d really like to keep my collection going, but maybe this one will have to be some other label. Thanks again!

Can anyone provide some information on the 2015 P Eisenhower Presidential Coin & Chronicles Sets that are due out soon this month. Is the Reverse Proof exclusive to this set and what is the proposed mintage? The eBay presales listings are in the $200-250 range.

@cagcrisp-
Yeah, I missed it because it was at the bottom of the list. Still based on previous situations when the gold price dropped there were numerous cancellations, presumably at the higher price. I’m surprised the links were modified so soon. I expect to see them back as available sometime during this next week, unless gold continues to fall and we have a further reduction this coming Wednesday.
BTW, if you look waaaay back (probably end of October to mid-November), my prediction for gold Kennedy going off-sale was when the price hit $1127.50 or the end of the year, but that was before they announced they would sell up to 75,000. At that time I thought the production total was around 70,000. And had that been the case, I would have been spot on (within 1%).
Still and all, this is about 2/3 of the 2009 UHR production, and the Kennedy is at least a popular coin from a collector’s point of view. I think there will be price stabilization between 75 and 100% above spot as time goes on and the coin filters through collections. Differences in labels won’t mean much, particularly the First Strike.

Looking at potential Coin and Currency candidates, there could also be a package which includes a Marshals half dollar and a reprint of a historic bill (like was done in 2001), or a lapel pin and patch which was done for the ’97 Law Enforcement dollar (not a coin and currency). But unless the coin (at least one – remember ’94 and ’97 nickels) is unique to that set, I don’t see any reason to buy. Since we’ve already had an RP dime from West Point, a regular Proof dime from Philly, 4 RP dollars with silver medals and stamps, I don’t think we’ll see a set priced like either the Chronicles or the MoD special.
What would be interesting is a set of 5 enhanced uncirculated AtB coins, maybe from SF.

Since Michael’s departure from MNB, I’m noticing that the bulk of substantive information is shifting from MNB blog to its reader comments section. Although I enjoy, for the most part, reading and contributing comments, gone from the new Mint News Blog-lite are thoughtful analyses of past, present and future U.S. Mint products, which often included historical background and facts not easily found elsewhere. Michael’s passion for collecting and original thinking made this blog a resource for collectors by a collector.

The new owner(s) thus far publish relatively infrequent top line briefs where we were accustomed to regular, often real time, reports with deep insight, which seems to have shifted more substantive information to this reader comment section. Whether deliberate or not, MNB’s business model is changing as MNB transitions from a veritable encyclopedia of modern U.S. numismatics to just another chat board, albeit a one with input from a small group of generally well-informed and experienced collectors of modern US coins.

I wish the new owners and writers well, but can’t help observing that I was drawn to the MNB that offered readers more than cursory coverage of U.S. Mint plans and products. Time and the free marketplace of ideas will tell if the new format attracts and retain new readers as well as the old one, especially if they skip MNB’s reader comments section.

I think the Kennedy Gold coin stabilization has already taken place. OGP for around $1000 for $825 of gold. I think this ratio will stay the same s gold spot moves up/down. This coin will not ever come close to the 2009 UHR.

jhawk92….there are several completed sells on ebay for the 5 oz Kisatchie MS69 DMPL….all are first strike with the flag label…not signed, but they all sold for under $200. Here is one example….but just do a search on 2015 5 oz Kisatchie MS69 DMPL and then click on “sold listings and you will see these.

jhawk92…I do see signed Mercanti listings for over $700….but that is what they are asking…not what they are selling for. A PCGS MS69 DMPL that is signed (regardless of a 44 pop., is not worth $500 more that a FS coin without his signature.

Yep, I’ve been following those two high priced Mercanti coins but having a hard time justifying that price. I may pick up a “standard” MS69 DMPL coin to make sure I have one and then keep an eye out down the road for a more reasonable price.

Clark-

I agree with your comments above. Hopefully the good info from the posters continues as I have found this blog to be extremely helpful.

@EagleOne… Check the recent MNB archives for comments on the 2015 Ike C&C. It opens for sales Aug. 11 & Household limit is 2. Key to purchasing this make sure to be on the Mint website just before noon and order as fast as you can. Mintage limit is 17,000. I’m expecting a sellout within the 1st 20 minutes it is offered.

Clark, Same here, that’s why I wasn’t happy when I learned of the change through another source last year. And I think you’re right, it’s beginning to appear as though the blog posts are becoming shorter and less in depth. Louis may know a bit more about what’s going on, as he commented once of other changes coming.

@Dustyroads–Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but so far MNB’s changes leave much to be desired, e.g., Michael’s direct responses to reader questions. It clearly required a lot of his time and effort, but his absence is now painfully obvious.

I’ll take your comment a step further and, at the risk of putting our friend Louis on the spot, suggest that MNB’s new owner(s) give serious thought to hiring Louis to take over, if he’s willing. As a reader since its inception, I just don’t see MNB surviving long if it continues operating under the new business model.

???…I guess I was away too long….when did Michael leave MNB?…Did he sell it to someone? Also, did he also leave Coin Update?…I assume he did and that is why we aren’t getting the weekly Mint sells report

I’m sorry to be late to this info, but would like to hear your comments/thoughts about this. Thanks, Steve

MarkInFlorida, Yes and no. Sometimes things are out of control that not even insurance can cover. I for one do not gamble, but I do borrow for business purposes with the knowledge of a high level of risk. I have become more keen over the years in reading signs and adjusting to be profitable, but still, business is a risky endeavor. Coin collecting is fun, but too many people want to spent their savings on a high market instead of the low. Pacing ones self will pay off in the end.

Steve, I was the first to bring this up last year after reading it at another site. Researching the info I found that MZ had indeed sold to Whitman. Almost instantly the add space appeared at the header of the page. Glad you are now one person.

Dustyroads,
Courage or stupidity? That’s really dependent on the odds for success. Obviously, the better the odds, the lower the stupidity part of the formula. On the other hand, a sure thing requires zero courage.

Now, ruining you can take several forms. Financial, moral, reputation, etc. if it’s only financial, some of the most successful people have gone bankrupt on the way to success. It cam be overcome ! The other things which might be ruined may never be overcome.

So, think long and hard. Then be wisely courageous. It’s what made this country great!

A few threads back DR pointed out that the domain had changed hands to Whitman on the 30th of June. If you go back to that date you’ll notice that was the last thread with Michael as the author and it lingered for about 850 posts.

The new threads since that date have been brief and many haven’t been very timely or informative.

I agree the only thing really keeping this blog afloat right now are the posters.

@DCDave – you could be right about the Kennedy gold – but I think it might be years before it actually pans out. I think many actually liked the idea of the coin – but 75,000 of them is a large number.

And come to think of it, the JFK gold was introduced while its regular versions (clad/silver) were still being regularly minted, while the 2009 UHR came out decades after the after the last Saint-Gaudens was minted. That UHR was not a prettied up version of a currently existing coin, but it was to mint a coin that Augustus Saint-Gaudens envisioned, but could not be made by the Mint with the technology of that time. I bought the UHR from the Mint and I enjoy looking at it every now and then, it is truly a beautiful coin. The only special 2014 JKF I got was the 4 piece silver set from the Mint, mainly to keep my RP collection intact.

Do a simple search on the bay for the above. Results: 7 hits. Lowest being $1,769.87 from the #2 seller of coins on the bay. They have an Adjusting Sales price in relation with spot Gold. They have Sold 2 coins on the bay with the lowest being $1,761.03. (You can go to their website and buy it even cheaper with cash/wire, but those that aren’t smart enough to do that are the same people that aren’t smart enough to buy directly from the Mint)

SO…IF you are a Flipper how are you going to buy a coin for either $1,490.00 or $1,540.00 and sell it on the bay with fees and postage and make ANY profit when you are trying to Sell into the Teeth of the #2 seller on the bay that has already established this price?…

You’re Hoping that Someone will pay You more $$ than the #2 seller on the bay? That’s your Game Plan?

Thanks Dusty, I guess the Ike RPs will be just as unique and exclusive as the Truman RPs. I’m contemplating another round of purchasing on August 11th. Household limit of 2 makes things a little more difficult. Maybe this explains the high presale prices on eBay. Sell out time at the open might be two to three times longer than the Truman sets. The Ike RP mintage is stated as 17k. Time to fire up the friends and family ordering system.

Dusty,
There actually were fairly recent Mint shipping boxes (maybe a year ago or so) that required tremendous grip strength to peel back the cardboard flaps, which were sealed with some type of ultra strong adhesive. It was pretty challenging to get at the coins.
It’s good that they are back to the boxes which open with a couple slices from a razor knife.
Also, I’m not familiar with PFSweb, which you mentioned in a comment. What is it?

Someone mentioned a caption that suggested the comment were the most ever, not sure what issue that was. Well there’s a reason when the subject isn’t changed in 23 days that’s what you get. The BHOF is still the most talked about issue on this blog in several years.

@cagcrisp… you are right, the little guy will get squashed like a bug on the windshield of the big boys if they attempt to flip the 2015 HR for a quick profit. The profit to be derived to the little guy in ANY best case scenario would make it an idiotic gamble to buy a high ticket price item to attain such a paltry (and more probably) negative return.
The colossally stupid or uniformed buyers of these “Pre-Sale” 2015 HR coins constitute an extreme minority of buyers (i.e.: “suckers”).
As for me, I’m just going to sit up in the high country and watch the train wreck on this offering.

Hawkster, You must be getting different Mint shipping boxes than I am, because I get the ones that I have to almost blast open. That glue must be China’s best. It could contain horse parts as far as we know, thanks PSFweb!

Did some research this afternoon on Item Numbers (aka Product Codes), as I thought there might be a correlation to past or existing product.., well not really, as I found the Item Numbers (IN) to be consistently, inconsistent.

I did find:

– that there’s really not correlation to an IN and the coin finish, and
– the prefix “15” is really unique, or any two digit prefix for that matter

So I honed in on “R” and “A” which given the past several year’s trend, equates to:

– Roosevelt, or
– US Marshalls, or
– someone with the initials of “RA”

The “A” is most likely tied to:

– Native American, or
– AtB

So, in keeping with what I enjoy most.., I’ll throw down on a little speculation, for 15RA, we’ll receive:

1. A Sacabuck Redux in which they’ll actually be a connection this time with a $2 bill, but still, what’s the point, or

2. A $1 George with a US Marshall’s 50 cent as there’s a strong connection between the two, or

3. Would love to see something done around a RP Theodore Roosevelt though can’t seem to make that work around the confines of the American $1 Coin and Currency Set.., so

Think we’re back to a Sacabuck Redux unless the mint really throws something out of the hat, but one must keep in mind, this product will likely need to fall in the $10-$20 range (based off historical trends)….

thePhelps, Whitman has owned the site far longer than DR’s big revelatory announcement of June 30th. I’m not so sure MZ was even writing articles here at MNB since Whitman acquired it. I did notice his name at the top of the pages of World Mint News Blog, but not here. The funny thing to me is after writing about his absence here at MNB, all of the articles authors were changed to MZ. I think I’m just a little surprised that people are now starting to see the change, when I tried to let everyone know last year, but no one seemed to care.

In any case, if this is a sign of things to come:
July 24, 2015 at 9:45 pm

Dustyroads said:
JULY 24, 2015 AT 9:33 PM

“I think the problem is the new box, they should revert back to the pryer ones.”

How anyone could ever take this guy’s comments seriously is beyond comprehension. He’s clearly too illiterate to even take advantage of simple spell-checkers. Utterly hopeless.

Did some research this afternoon on Item Numbers (aka Product Codes), as I thought there might be a correlation to past or existing product…”

Just curious, but how many coin products did your research uncover to be associated with 4 character program item IDs? It appears most/all Mint coin products have a program item ID with only three characters.

@Dustyroads… I believe it has been known for over a year that Michael had sold the blog – and it wasn’t until the 30th of June that the site officially transferred to Whitman. I believe if you go back through many articles you’ll still see Michael’s name attributed to them. The one I pointed out specifically was the June 30th article which was about the Truman coin and chronicles – which is the last article that I see attributed to him – and quite possibly the last he will write for this site.

thePhelps, I sense in your last sentence you’re holding onto some hope that MZ will not entirely stop writing for the blog. Even though most of us will miss him, I think this blog will develop into something much better than we now know, I’d bet on that!

@Dusty- Thanks for the Modern Coin Forum plug! As a founder of that forum I can tell you it”s awesome! Hah! Hah! The inimitable Heidi Wastweet, goddess of all things in the realm of medallic art, has been known to frequent the MCM forum especially in the “Ask Heidi” thread. Today I received the fantastic UHR Grand Canyon round that is produced by Elemetal. And they publish a great magazine called American Hard Assets (don’t leave the “t” out when you ask for it or you will be directed to your neighborhood adult store if there still is one), whose numismatic correspondent is, well, I am sure you can guess. However, AHA is no longer sold at Barnes and Noble, so you need to be an Elemetal client to get it.

Although I miss MZs articles, the most valuable information I have gleaned from this site has been the result of the faithful member posters. This really IS a helpful community…even though a somewhat family at times 🙂

Louis, My pleasure. I was at the site and signed up recently and like what I see. Wow, Heidi Wastweet, really! Just between you and me, I’m head over heels for her. she’s perfect. Anyway, glad to learn about it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Elemetal products lately, it’s my understanding they are quite striking. If I can’t get them out of my head, I’ll have to give them a try! Thanks for the heads up on, well you know…

Since Michael’s departure, I’ve found the blog has deteriorated in the following ways:

Articles become stale due to lack of new material posting more frequently: Michael typically put a new article up on Fridays for weekend discussion. When new Mint releases were few and far between, he would revisit earlier releases and provide sales figures or other information. The day proceeding a release, he would have an article about the product, which was a great reminder and tie in with what most would be commenting about anyway that following day.

While Michael did not often comment after he wrote the article, he did make personal observations in the body of the original blog… all from a non-biased perspective, maintaining the highest journalistic standards (wish the regular news was disseminated in the same way). Who didn’t enjoy his tour of the West Point Mint? I’ve never seen him criticize or obsess about any commenters or comments, which must have been hard to do at times. Not sure if he ever banned anyone, if so he kept it private.

My hope is the new owner finds someone with the same passion to keep the blog on top. Currently the articles are a bit sterile and bland. And Michael if your reading, I think I speak for most when I say now that your a free agent, we’d love to have you comment as part of the group (unless you are under agreement not to do so).

Anyone traveling in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area is missing a huge treat if you do not visit the Carson City Mint. Even my wife was fascinated!
While you are in that area, be sure to go to Virginia City, home of the Comstock Lode, for the opportunity to travel back in time to the Wild West. Check out the silver dollar wedding dress while there.
The whole area is a great long weekend trip.

Before taking over MintNewsBlog and CoinUpdate, Whitman Publishing operated its own coin news website at news.whitman.com. They stop updating it in Nov 2013 and it went completely dark earlier this year. Most of its news postings consisted of a quote from an article at Mike Unser’s CoinNews.net along with a link to the article. Although there was no provision for readers’ comments, it looked pretty slick.

If Whitman couldn’t keep its own simple coin news site going, then why would they want to take over other coin news sites without also buying the talent that kept those sites interesting?

Dusty- I know what you mean about HW. However, she is married! One of the things I like about the other forum is anyone can start a thread and there are always threads on many issues. But the comments here on US coins are more in depth.

Meanwhile back at Memphis, there is a grand total of 1 coin available for the Grace Coolidge proof FS as of this morning. Once she’s gone, 3 down and 1 go of 2014 FS proof coins, leaving Lou Hoover as the sole survivor of the 2014 proofs. Still plenty of Taft and Wilson proofs though.

Gary, I’ve been under the impression, mostly because of other comments that MZ has enough other unrelated work on his hands and may not be writing at all. You could always do a search of him and possibly even contact him and let him know how much you enjoyed his work. I have a feeling he may already know how you feel.
If I were you,

@hawkster, no but he is from Miami…Zingermans does just fine, they make more than enough “dough” to operate with a profit. Blimpy Burgers sux and is exactly that, a greasy spoon. Now, if you enjoy a killer Falafel then, if it is still there, is Jerusalem Garden!

“Two studies published in 2013 and 2014 have found that people who are identified as trolls tend to have dark personality traits and show signs of sadism, antisocial behavior, psychopathy, and machiavellianism.[42][43] The 2013 study suggested that there are a number of similarities between anti-social and flame trolling activities[42] and the 2014 study suggested that the noxious personality characteristics known as the “dark triad of personality” should be investigated in the analysis of trolling, and concluded that trolling appears “to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism.”[43] Their relevance is suggested by research linking these traits to bullying in both adolescents and adults. The 2014 study found that trolls operate as agents of chaos on the Internet, exploiting hot-button issues to make users appear overly emotional or foolish in some manner. If an unfortunate person falls into their trap, trolling intensiﬁes for further, merciless amusement. This is why novice Internet users are routinely admonished, “Do not feed the trolls!” The 2013 study found that trolls often have a high expectation of what it means to be successful, which is higher than they are able to attain, and this results in them resenting others who think they are successful but who fall below their standards.”

The most probable reason for buying MNB is favorable website traffic data from services like google analytics, which measures and tracks reader traffic, devices, and many many other characteristics about readers at a level of detail that would surprise most people. These data allow Whitman to sell advertising on MNB that specifically target individual readers by IP address, and which target aggregate reader profiles based on browsing, buying, geographic locations and countless other traits. Whitman liked Michael’s traffic reports enough to buy MNB and make money selling its own and others ads here. Ironically, we readers made it profitable for Michael to leave.

The ads I see here as I write this are for L&C Coins, First Coin and two Whitman ads. Because I once made a purchase from L&C, you may not see it. You almost certainly see the Whitman ads.

Every one of your visits to MNB is recorded and your IP address is shared with multiple databases to build and grow your online profile. Cookies from this site and others likely track your movements at MCM, ebay, newsgroups, porn sites, and countless other online destinations which provide advertisers with a frighteningly complete view of who you are and what you do.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the US Mint used this technology to determine what it’s best customers are most likely to want in future products?

VA Bob – Not sure were you where but this blogs comment section was the wild west a few years back, especially when anonymous posting was allowed. Then we had the “pop pop” troll and few others. The flame wars between the pro, and anti gold crowds. People giving hot “stock” tips, and of course the my grandfather died and left me his coin collection. I don’t don’t what its worth but he has a 1964 Peace dollar…all those people are now gone.

@Dustyroads – He will not leave you alone, he is getting his kicks on your reaction, your best bet is to DTFTT, and ignore him.

Sith – I was here for the anonymous posting era (in fact I referenced the pop, pop, pop troll a few days ago, no one commented so, I figured they either forgot him or weren’t here for it). I never suggested that flame wars or arguments didn’t arise, just that Michael stayed above the fray. You may also recall that most articles had less than 50 comments (sometimes much less). Less contributors back then to be sure. More substance on the topic, that’s arguable to be sure. Better now or then, that is also debatable.

@NDJAY – thank you for sharing the information about the set. I checked the US Mint product page, and there is no indication that the $1 coin is a Native American coin. The set could possibly include a $1 presidential dollar or perhaps a $1 American Silver Eagle. (Although admittedly, the $1 Native American coin makes the most sense).

Also there is no indication of the finish on the coin. I guess collectors, flippers, and dealers will all be hoping for another enhanced uncirculated coin. However, this year, the US Mint may continue its series of reverse proof coins and include a reverse proof $1 coin. Time will tell. And I’m sure there will be plenty of speculation in the weeks leading up to this set.

I checked out the auction and it seems, at least for now, to be an aberration. I’m unsure why anyone would pay close to $300 for a set that they can purchase at a Buy it Now price for $200 (currently).

Sometimes there is a “gambler” mentality on eBay where buyers engage in a bidding war and escalate a price beyond the norm so that they can claim victory. Perhaps it happened in this case…..

@NDJAY – thank you for sharing the information. Yes, I see it now on the US Mint’s home page. And the photo of the set shows the 2015 “Mohawk Ironworkers” Native American $1 coin and a $1 Washington dollar bill. The photo also shows that the coin is “Enhanced Uncirculated.”

So here we go again…. I wonder how many sets the US Mint will produce? And what will the ordering limits be (if any)? That will be interesting….

That photobucket pic is clear tho-EA on the Iron Workers it is! Them some sneaky peaks workin OT over at the good ol US Mint…Get that OT time on the clock working on a Sunday for a quick tease. I bet they tested it to see how long until word was posted here to gauge future product releases…Way to be on it…

It was somewhat of an anomaly as Hildago said…what happened was you had two bidders that both employed the same strategy of bidding and it backfired against the second and winning bidder. One bidder placed a very high max bid with 1 minute 31 seconds left of $285, at the time he/she had the highest bid of $197.50, 28 seconds later, but with over a minute still left in the auction, another bidder placed a very high max bid of over $290. To his surprise, he was now the high bidder, with a bid of $290. No other bids were made.
This strategy of coming in with quite a bit of time remaining and placing a very high max bid is utilized frequently. It allows a bidder that wants to win the auction to keep last second snipers from outbidding them. In this case both bidders were using the same strategy at about the same time. Wow, I know the winning bidder was sick about it. They have a very high ebay rating and were not inexperienced by any means.
Regardless, what I take from the bid history, you still see ebay users with high ratings still seeking these sets even at the current price levels. The ER/FS window closes the 30th and 31st at NGC and PCGS, respectively…so these purchases will not make that cutoff.

The packaging for the 2015 Native American dollar set does not state the word “proof”. Even with that blurry photo and my almost 50 year old eyes, I would be able to spot that word on the packaging. It will be an enhanced coin.

@FM- I sent my best three Truman sets into NGC yesterday. Hoping for the best…I had a couple of really strong RP’s and like you mentioned before, I would rather have them in a NGC holder to help maintain their color over the years. Maybe I get lucky as a small fry submitter.
Your question about when to sell your extras is a good one. We are sort of in uncharted territory because although the Truman RP would normally be running out of steam by now, we still have 3 more Presidential RP’s to come this year, with possibly another Reagan next year. So you sort of have to treat this series of releases as ONE release. It never hurts to take a little $$$ of the table, which you already did earlier, but I see no reason to get in a hurry until we see a significant decline in interest in the entire series of offerings.

@GoldFishin, Thanks for the analysis. Why did the winning bidder not get it at $287.50 vs. $290.00? IF I understand your analysis and the increments were $2.50, why the $290.00 IF the 2nd bidders top was $285.00? And can you tell if $290.00 was his/her top? Or is there a way of telling what his/her top was?

@Cagcrisp- no, you can’t tell if $290 was the top bid, it could have been $300 or more. It really was stupid to place a max bid that high. But, I have run across bidders that do that, and it obviously works out for them most of the time or they wouldn’t do it. I am more of a sniper, only bidding at the very end, but doing analysis on the bidding history before hand.

That’s what I was wondering. Will a complete set of 2014 Coin and Chronicles be more valuable than the sum of its individual parts?
I am not counting the 2015 Reagan because I expect that set to be “tweaked” given the popularity of these sets. Maybe they will also include a normal proof dollar or bronze medal.

They keep missing the boat by not putting a $2 bill in the package. They could save the cost and leave the $1 bill out. BTW notice last years American C & C still doesn’t say sold out, just out of stock? Kill it already.

The last 3 auctions that Just concluded for the Trumans were : $1,025.00 for 5, $202.50 and $202.50. Currently there is an auction with a little less than an hour to Go that is setting at $218.38 with $2.50 increment and 11 current bids…

Clark, I think the ads on the bottom are static as I don’t see any changes from the various computers that I use on different ip addresses with cookies constantly cleared. Also Google “Ad Sense” ads have a small triangle in the upper right corner of the ad.

@NcCoin- Whenever you have a series of coins like we have with the Presidential RP’s, you always have some collectors that for various reasons only become aware of the series later on. They may miss the first and/or second releases and they what to catch up on the series. The first release is usually the hardest and most expensive to obtain as time moves on. There will always be some deep pockets that just want to purchase the entire set at one time and will be willing to pay up to do so, But, as a purchaser, you can normally buy the individual coins(or sets) for less money than someone offering the entire series.

Also, with this series, what if you were will able to get the Truman set, but are unable to get the IKE the day they are offered by the Mint? Will folks be desirous enough for these sets to go into the secondary market and pay up to continue their collection? There are a lot of variables until the series ends, at which time the prices will start to settle where they will likely remain for an extended period, eventually probably slowly declining, but from what levels…who knows? They have already done more than I ever thought they would.
The low level of 70 grades by the TPG’s have had the effect of raising overall prices in my opinion. I wonder if maybe the Ike’s will grade the same or will they grade better? If they grade better, will it make the Truman sets more valuable or less so? My guess would be more valuable. It will be fun to see it all play out.

@Dusty- I addressed that at the end of my comments, but like I explained, there are bidders that will place a very high max bid as a strategy of winning the auction. It simply did not work out for him this time, it is a risk you take with that strategy, the risk that you run into another bidder with the same strategy at the same time. I know of what I speak, backed up by a lot of ebay experience and seeing this happen over and over again.

@Cagcrisp- the bidder that lost that auction with the $285 bid, later purchased two BIN Trumans sets for $200 each +$9 shipping. Why they didn’t do that in the first place you can attribute to inexperience. I am sure they are glad they didn’t learn the hard way.

You guys are killing me with these $200 C&C sets… then again I am lucky I got any since I missed the 15 minute window and got in when it reopened for an hour. I should have bough all 5 that day – but I didn’t. 🙁

I sold my extras and paid off my sets so I am happy – and I still have 2 sets left!

@Louis, There are many things you can do to minimize tracking of your internet browsing habits, but it is difficult to go completely “off the grid” without using applications specifically designed to hide your identity and data. As someone noted, you may clear tracking cookies regularly, but that won’t mask your IP address. You also can set most browsers to high security levels that block all cookies, but that, in turn, often blocks you from accessing many popular sites. Encryption and VPN (virtual private networks) are effective ways to protect data and, in the latter example, data and your IP address by using random (dynamic) IP addresses to mask your actual address.

Most people just don’t bother to take these security precautions and often do the opposite : We who comment here disclose our email addresses when we register to comment, which opens a whole new way for tracking not only our IP addresses, but also our comments. It is possible that Whitman sells our email addresses wrapped in a lot of data about our browsing habits, demographic info., etc., which is another reason they may have found the blog to be a good investment.

@GoldFishin – Thanks for sharing. I think you pose a very good question to the however many thousands were able to purchase a Truman set directly from the mint, “Would you pay secondary market prices to complete the 2014 set?”
I have been thinking with a lower household limit; it should be a lock to get to Ike sets, but there are no guarantees.
All else being equal I would buy in OGP on the secondary market (even given the nosebleed pre-sale pricing on the Eisenhower). I dont think I am alone there.
The risk might be greater in assembling a TPG collection as there is no telling where the grades and pricing might go; as you point out. One degraded set of planchets or change in tonnage pressure and assembling a set of 69’s could be very challenging.

Another reason MNB probably was attractive is the demographics of the MNB reader. Having participated here from the start, I would say the average MNB reader is a college educated, retired or full time employed professional with enough disposable income to spend over $5,000 a year on silver and gold coins which are not for investment purposes.

MNB readers are skeptical, lean conservative and are married Christian white males over 40 who follow traditional news media (not a lot of social media millennials here). Although many of us may consider ourselves middle-middle to upper-middle class, to advertisers we are highly prized consumers with a lot of discretionary income to throw around on what many would consider to be nonessential goods and services. We are very attractive to purveyors of high end autos, luxury watches, firearms. cruises, securities and real estate. Just my guess.

It is way too hard to believe that it is a coincidence that the new 2015 Coins and Currency set just shows just enough of the word “enhanced” to drive us nuts. There must be some mint officials with a warped sense of humor.

There is some bum F bidder on eBay bidding on 2015 Truman sets that is pulling their bids right before the auction ends claiming “Entered the Wrong Price.” They burned me on three auctions tonight. Their handle is “whenwewereyounginac(1200).” Block them if you can.

Thanks, Clark. But I doubt Whitman sells our email addresses. It is a well-run, honest company best known for the Red Book, as I am sure you know, and for the coin conventions it sponsors. Tracking data is one thing but selling email addresses used for registration is another thing altogether. In my opinion anyway.

@Louis- I created a new email address when I signed up for MNB. At least until now, I have never received any kind of unsolicited or spam email. For Whitman to sell our email addresses would be the quickest way to destroy the following on MNB and hence their investment in the site. It would be very foolish to do so.

Thanks, GF. I totally agree. In fact, while I agree with Clark’s overall description of how companies in general track our data to a troubling degree, I would note that I get the exact same ads here that he mentioned he gets.
Whitman, like MZ, appears to simply trying to generate enough from ads to run the site, not to earn a big profit. Otherwise, there would be a whole lot more ads as there is in, for ex., CoinWeek, which is more expensive to operate.

@Louis- I also agree with Clark’s overall assessment of how website’s track and gather data on its users. However, MNB is one of the least tracked sites that I visit. I use Ghostery to stop the tracking on sites that I utilize and these are the only trackers that appear on MNB. They are very common ones and of course Ebay is partnered with MNB.

These are the trackers that you encounter on the US MINT website. Also a minimally invasive website. I have them all blocked and it doesn’t change how the website performs at all. Google is everywhere you go, big brother of the internet.

If the NA series ends in 2016, since the Pres. series also ends next year, as far as I know it reverts back to the plain old Sac $. Not sure if they have to revert to the same reverse design ( which I like) or if they can desigate a new permanent one…..

GoldFishin, The only place I don’t find trackers is inside my bank accounts, they are everywhere else. I just white list the Mint site with Ghostery and not worry about it. I know I’m not completely safe unless I go all manual. That would be fine, except that then I would have to keep a roll of cash on me and I don’t like that for sure.

The Street.com is recommending buying Gold and Silver coins from the Mint. Check out Yahoo and read the article. I have never seen a Financial News organization doing this. Maybe our time has come and the Millennials will start buying coins. They recommended the 2015 Eagle Proof set, the Buffalo, the Jackie O, the 5 oz silver and the Unc. Silver.

Larry, JBK – the Native American Dollar isn’t ending next year. From the mint website:

“Reverse designs for the Native American $1 Coin are selected by the Secretary of the Treasury after consulting with the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Congress of American Indians, and after public review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. Like Presidential $1 Coins, Native American $1 Coins have a distinctive edge, are golden in color, and feature edge-lettering of the year, mint mark and E PLURIBUS UNUM.

During the years of the program that correspond with the Presidential $1 Coin Program, Native American $1 Coins will be issued, to the maximum extent practicable, in the chronological order in which the Native Americans depicted lived or the events recognized occurred. Following the conclusion of the Presidential $1 Coin Program, the Native American $1 Coin Program coins will be issued in any order determined to be appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Congress of American Indians, and after public review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. “

Someone is getting desparate. When there is an effort to pull in the general public – look out below ! When big investors dump , they need someone to hand off to, or there is a catastrophic collapse.

Witness the peak of real estate in 2008. The word to poor folk was buy now or you will never be able to buy. How many people bought who had no business buying a house? The troubled flippers needed an end user to flip to as the seasoned flip game was stagnating.

Soon afterward the market collapsed with a near total collapse of the World Economy. With bandaids in place we are limping along with smoke and mirrors.

There is an axiom – when the common man is beckoned into a market, the smart money is slipping out. There must always be someone to hand off to .

Ends in Error, I keep thinking the HR gold liberty because of your exact reasoning, but, I as I remember how this gold goes I don’t think I’ve seen it, after a hugh spike, go to the last low that appeared from the last run up in the metal. I’m sure many wonder, like me, how low will it go.

@Leo S.- I personally wouldn’t pay any attention to it. Cramer has been recommending to buy gold coins from the US Mint as long as I can remember. He generally has never liked the ETF’s from what I have read. He advocates a long term strategy of basically buy and hold, only selling extreme upward rises in the price. Also, in my opinion, the street.com has some serious conflicts of interest and you never really know if they are recommending something because it is a good investment or because they have financial incentives to do so. JMHO
Here is a link from a familiar website, note the date. I can provide many other links from almost every calendar year that states basically the same thing.

@FM- I sent my best three Truman sets into NGC yesterday. Hoping for the best…I had a couple of really strong RP’s and like you mentioned before, I would rather have them in a NGC holder to help maintain their color over the years. Maybe I get lucky as a small fry submitter.
Your question about when to sell your extras is a good one. We are sort of in uncharted territory because although the Truman RP would normally be running out of steam by now, we still have 3 more Presidential RP’s to come this year, with possibly another Reagan next year. So you sort of have to treat this series of releases as ONE release. It never hurts to take a little $$$ of the table, which you already did earlier, but I see no reason to get in a hurry until we see a significant decline in interest in the entire series of offerings.

Best of luck and may the 70 Gods be in your favor! So you had to send 5, what else went in the bunch if u don’t mind me asking? I sent my MOD dimes…RP came back a 70! PF came back 69UC

Gosh, I remember when I first started I saw all these acronyms and it was driving me nuts and I just HAD to figure out what they all meant and everyone was so nice and polite to explain and answer each and every question I had about this hobby. TY you all again for your help over the years and may we pass it FWD…

@Louis–That’s good to know about Whitman. I too would be very disappointed if it sold our email addresses. With that said and its reputation notwithstanding, the way Whitman has been operating this blog makes me think we’re dealing with Whitman’s Sampler, the candy maker, not the Whitman of numismatic acclaim. http://www.russellstover.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=216

@Goldfishin–Thanks, it sounds like you are more diligent about monitoring your online privacy than most folks. Smart move in this free-for-all online world.

The thing that really makes me think is the ongoing sale of beautiful sulfides and oxides in the Pouge Collection of Coins? Why are they exiting the market? Why are all the hi end Dealers insisting this is not panic dumping?

But then what better way to invest your millions than to put it all in a few pennies nickels dimes quarters and etc ? 😉

@FM- I sent in three complete Truman sets(6 Coins), so that met the 5 coin requirement. I really only wanted to send in 2 sets, but had to send the third one. Congrats on your MOD RP70. That was a nice bonus, they are still selling for over$170 on the bay. I have 5 MOD sets I haven’t even opened yet, but I am thinking I may send some of them in with my IKE’s if I am lucky enough to get a couple of nice sets. Cheers!